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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942521">picking up the pieces</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlmono/pseuds/irlmono'>irlmono</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Little Nightmares (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abandonment Issues, Cannibalism, Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Children Made Of Porcelain Are Not A Good Meal, Crying, Even more trauma, Gen, Gun Trauma, Narcissism, Neurodivergent Mono (Little Nightmares), Neurodiversity, Overthinking, Porcelain Children, Ruler Trauma, Self-Harm, Self-Indulgent, Six is still a cannibal, Trauma, Trauma :)), Unhappy Ending, lots of trauma, theres a lot of it :))</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:14:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,402</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlmono/pseuds/irlmono</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He’s not a monster. He knows that. Six seems to thinks otherwise.<br/>Or, Mono and Six go on a journey to the signal tower. They both battle their demons.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. you don’t look like you belong here (did you pinch yourself to see?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mono woke with a start, jolting forward as if he had been shocked, his dark brown curls of hair falling over his eyes. A few droplets of icy rain splattered onto the top of his head, sliding down his cheeks and sending a shiver down his spine. He gripped the edges of his coat and pulled it close, wrapping it around himself like a cozy blanket. </p>
<p>Maybe it would keep him safe from his scary dreams flooding his head. </p>
<p>What stupid thoughts, he thought to himself, and scanned the surprisingly healthy grass for his paper bag mask. </p>
<p>Eventually, after what seemed like hours of searching, his fingers scraped the scratchy material and he shoved it onto his head, glassy brown eyes peering out of the sloppily cut holes. </p>
<p>The small boy slowly stood, grasping onto the television seated next to him to help him stand. It hummed menacingly as the static flickered on the white and black screen, shooting sparks of electricity out of the broken cables half hazardously connected to the box. </p>
<p>It was dangerous to stare directly at the static, especially if you were older than the other children, more susceptible to the mind-controlling electronics than the others. </p>
<p>But the TVs didn’t affect Mono. So he was okay staring at them! Maybe.</p>
<p>He stood up and dusted off his dirty coat, snapping himself out of his thoughts. Where to now..?? He took small, tentative steps to the right, brushing past piles of dead leaves and shrubs littering the ground. </p>
<p>Mono paused; then stepped forward, a clumsy move, and his right foot got caught in a net trap. It launched into the air and left him dangling upside down in mid-air, dangerously close to swinging into the tree to his left. </p>
<p>He made a squeaky noise of discomfort and surprise as his paper bag mask flew off of his head and landed safely on the ground, and he made a panicked swing for it, fists clenching and unclenching rapidly as he tried to untangle himself. </p>
<p>Groaning lowly, a vibrating purr of annoyance, he swung himself back and forth, slowly edging himself out of the trap. His foot slipped out of the netting and he realised in a panic that he was falling. </p>
<p>“No, no, no, no..!!” he squealed, trying to grab onto a branch or something that could prolong his inevitable crash to the hard forest ground.</p>
<p>Mono kept falling, down, down, down, and he closed his eyes, ready to feel the harsh, stinging pain, but instead, his fall was cushioned by a pile of leaves. He laughed nervously and took his paper bag off of the ground and onto his head, obscuring his wrong face once again. </p>
<p>Phew. Disaster prevented. </p>
<p>Mono continued to walk, this time more carefully just in case there were more traps up ahead. More dangerous traps were surely up ahead if there were snare nets laid behind the leaves. His glassy eyes flickered around suspiciously and he kicked a pinecone to the side, planning to toss it around like a soccer ball, but as soon as it touched the ground, a loud snapping noise sounded. </p>
<p>He jumped, fear gripping him like a snake, but then he realised that there was a bear trap high in the air that was crashing to the ground. </p>
<p>Oops. </p>
<p>So, his gut feeling was right. There were other slightly more dangerous traps. Good to know. </p>
<p>Rocking on his heels, he pondered what to do silently. The tip of his thumb had wandered into his mouth to chew as he looked around. More pine cones were scattered around on the ledge, so he picked one up and hesitantly threw it into the leaf pit. </p>
<p>A trail of traps activated and flew up into the air before landing with a crash on the forest floor, a noise that rung annoyingly in Mono’s sensitive ears. He winced, before stepping onto the stepping stone above the pit of leaves, then jumping to the other side. </p>
<p>Another trap avoided! </p>
<p>He gave himself a quiet high five, giggling softly as he skipped alongside the pretty trees that seemed more lively than the ones on the other side. </p>
<p>Then, he noticed something in the distance. </p>
<p>There was a cabin up ahead. </p>
<p>The light from the windows illuminated the surrounding shrubland and his shy stride turned into a run. Maybe a place to stay, he wondered to himself as he climbed up a box and through the open window. </p>
<p>But he instantly regretted his decision as the smell of rotting flesh hit his nose. He gagged, slapping a hand over his mouth, bottom lip trembling as he shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. </p>
<p>Something about this cabin gave him a weird feeling. </p>
<p>He wasn’t alone, that was for sure. The small boy could hear a childish tune being played downstairs, a light tinkling noise that soothed his nerves, so without thinking he made his way down the creaking wooden stairs.</p>
<p>The first thing he noticed was the wooden board covering up what seemed like the entrance to another room. Mono hummed gently and peered through a hole in the board. </p>
<p>There was another room! He was right! </p>
<p>He could see the outline of a small person tucked away, playing with a toy music box. So that’s where the noise was coming from... Hm. </p>
<p>He scanned the room for anything he could use to pry the board off of the wall. A glint of light reflecting off of an axe caught his eye and he crept over, prying the weapon from the block of wood with a grunt. He swung it to test it and almost fell forward, but caught his balance just in time and snuck back over to the boarded-up door.</p>
<p>He swung the axe at the boards on the door until there was a hole big enough to climb through, then he dropped it and edged his way into the next room. He caught a glimpse of the same child hiding under a large table, cowering in fear. </p>
<p>They shuffled out from under the table after noticing that it was another child and Mono stayed as quiet as he could while taking baby steps towards them. </p>
<p>He didn’t want to scare them after all! </p>
<p>He bent down to be eye level with the probably slightly younger kid and beckoned with his hand.</p>
<p>“..Hi! Pssst!” Mono said quietly, high pitched voice muffled by his mask. He kept his hand held out just in case the other needed help.</p>
<p>They slowly crawled towards him and his hands shook excitedly, but then they knocked him to the ground and started running away as fast as they could. </p>
<p>As his body hit the ground he whimpered in pain and fear, but he didn’t stay still for long, he jumped up despite the very clear protests his body was making and started to chase the child up the stairs, down the hallway, through the dining room and into an almost empty storage room. </p>
<p>Footsteps echoed loudly through the rooms that they ran through and he crossed his fingers and hoped that the noise they were making wouldn’t alert anyone... or.. anything.</p>
<p>The strange child, girl? stood in the middle of the room on a dust-covered rug, cowering in fear. There was a lever on the roof that she couldn’t quite reach, even though she was jumping and flailing her arms to try and grab it. She looked at him from behind her black bangs and made an awkward little wave.</p>
<p>“High..” she whispered in a shaky voice, motioning to the lever above. Mono nodded in understanding and whispered back, “high”.</p>
<p>Mono ran up to the girl and she clasped her hands together. He stepped onto the makeshift stepping stone that she had made with her hands and jumped up, grabbing onto the swinging lever. </p>
<p>As soon as his tiny hands grabbed on, a staircase descended from the ceiling, clattering loudly. A roar was heard from another room and he froze, before dropping to the ground. </p>
<p>He and the girl both laid flat on the ground, unmoving, before standing and looking to each other, then the staircase. A silent word was passed between the two children and Mono started to climb up the staircase, into the dusty attic.</p>
<p>Once he had climbed to the second story, he looked down at the girl and nodded, a confirmation that it was okay to come up with him, and scanned the room with curious eyes. </p>
<p>There was a closet, a suitcase, stacks of giant books, doll parts (strange, he mused), crates and other various trinkets. He ran over to the suitcase just as the girl finished climbing the stairs, trying to push the object forward. </p>
<p>He groaned softly as the suitcase would not budge an inch, but then the girl ran over and joined in pushing it. It slid easily to the other side, crashing against an end table. Mono, accompanied with the other child, climbed the suitcase and over the end table.</p>
<p>This side of the room was bigger than the other, littered with tables and cabinets galore, body bags that reeked of blood (he couldn’t help but gag, but then realised that the girl wasn’t reacting so he shut up), rugs and hooks. </p>
<p>A key was sitting on the hook high in the air.. hm. Was there any way he could get to it..? </p>
<p>The girl ran over to one of the cabinets and held her hands out, so Mono followed her and climbed onto her hands. She lifted him into the air and he grabbed onto the cabinet, pulling himself up onto the wooden surface. </p>
<p>He slid down a plank of wood and edged himself underneath the shelves, quietly ducked down underneath. He clambered out of the other side of the shelves and looked around suspiciously, then noticed what seemed like a person sitting in a rocking chair holding a crank lever. </p>
<p>He gasped, before noticing the stuffing coming out of the person’s arm in heaps. It was just a... doll. He felt a little stupid, but he grabbed the lever and pulled as hard as he could. </p>
<p>There was a horrible ripping sound as the doll’s arm was torn off with the lever, and it fell onto the planks along with the crank. </p>
<p>Mono squealed, scrambling back away from the detached arm. The crank lever laid on the ground discarded, so he picked it up and crawled back the way he came from. The girl was still waiting for him in the other room, he noticed, as he stood on top of the cabinet. </p>
<p>He took a step forward but fell, down, down, down onto the floor. His hands had let go of the crank as he toppled to the ground, so the girl took it from off of the ground and slot it into the spot where it went, then started to crank it. One of the hopefully empty body bags was lifted off of the floor and into the air. </p>
<p>Mono ran over to it and climbed up the body bag as it was lifted and he jumped to the hook where the key was. He stayed on the hook for a few seconds before his grip slipped, and he fell to the ground. But the key clambered after him, so... win for him!</p>
<p>Mono picked up the key and hooked it onto the keychain on his coat. The girl watched as he did so with a weird look in her eyes, but before he could ask what was wrong, she climbed the dresser, leaving him no time to ask questions. </p>
<p>So, he followed her. She seemed to know what she was doing, after all. They ran through the room and down the staircase, then once they were safely on the ground Mono unlocked the door to their left with the key. </p>
<p>It swung open, revealing the outside world to them. They ran down the stairs leading outside, barely stopping to look at what was outside. Mono had a feeling that they weren’t alone, so he didn’t want to stick around and find out. They continued creeping through the grass and into the next building. </p>
<p>As soon as he entered the next building, possibly a shed, he could hear... tearing. Ripping. Shredding. </p>
<p>He shuddered uncontrollably at the disgusting noises and horrible stench of gore. He’d always had a weak stomach. The girl ran over to a box in front of them while he was busy gasping for air, and she gave him an annoyed look like ‘are you gonna help or what?’, so he followed her over and helped her push it to the other side. </p>
<p>They clawed their way over the box and through the square hole in the wall, then dropped over the other side. </p>
<p>They landed on a pile of animal skin, and Mono blanched, shutting his eyes tight. He could feel the fur under his bare feet so he shifted from foot to foot to try and rid himself of the itchy feeling. He took the lead though in leaving the pile of skin and crouched down, sneaking through the room while the girl followed. </p>
<p>Stood at a bench ripping at meat was a man dressed in a coat with a sack on his head. Mono gasped, but the girl shushed him, annoyed, so they continued to sneak. </p>
<p>The two children got to the pet flap, and Mono pushed it, grunting loudly, but the noise alerted the man. </p>
<p>The man yelled a warning, but the kids had already started running, and they tumbled down a hill of leaves. He could feel hands on his back, pushing him out of the way, but he paid no mind to it and ran. He didn’t care if the girl was following and he didn’t even check. He just wanted to get out of there alive, and if the girl was to get out alive too, then good. </p>
<p>Better.</p>
<p>The man shot at him, bullets whizzed past his ears as he ran and ran, ducking behind crates. He hid in a hole and stood very still, waiting for the man to pass. </p>
<p>Finally, he noticed that the girl was still alive and standing right beside him. He gave a shaky wave and peered out at his surroundings. </p>
<p>The man had stomped off to look for them, so he held out his hand to the girl, who took it in her own. The two walked together, sneaking among the tall grass and weeds. Once they caught sight of the man (maybe a hunter?) they stopped in the grass while his flashlight scanned the area for pests. </p>
<p>Then, the Hunter looked away. </p>
<p>Mono and the girl took the opportunity and ran, ducking into a hole as the Hunter shot at them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. dive into the madness (try swimming through miasmic blackness.)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Hunter doesn’t give up that easily.<br/>Neither do Mono and Six.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i promise the next chapter will be longer 😭</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The two children were cowered in the hole under the tree, panting and gasping for air. Mono still held the girl’s shaking hand in his own and hugged her close as they listened for the stomping of heavy boots on leaves and sticks. </p>
<p>The sounds grew further and further away so Mono moved his head from where it was buried in his knees and turned to look at the girl. She seemed almost... calm. Most of her face was shielded from view as her midnight black bangs fell over her eyes like curtains. From what he could see, she didn’t seem phased at all. </p>
<p>Weird.</p>
<p>Mono exhaled shakily, squeezing the girl’s hand tight to ground himself. He was fine. He was okay. </p>
<p>Mono looked around, silently listening for footsteps and crunching leaves. Nothing. They were safe. Relief dawned on him and he breathed out a sigh, a tiny, calm mewl.</p>
<p>The girl looked at him strangely, pressing her pointer finger to her lips in a shushing motion.</p>
<p>‘Be quiet,’ she mouthed silently, knocking his arm with her own. He flinched at the sudden contact, who did this girl think she was to push him around like that? He didn’t need to be quiet, anyways! The Hunter was gone! He shook his head defiantly and crawled towards the exit of the hole on the other side of the giant tree.</p>
<p>“Come! He’s gone!” Mono said excitedly, crawling out of the tiny space.</p>
<p>The sun had gone fully down now and the moon was hidden behind a dark cloud. He shivered, feeling uneasy about the sheer darkness of the night. </p>
<p>A crunching sound was heard behind him and he froze up, expecting to hear the bang of a shotgun and a bullet through his head, shattering him to pieces, so he span around and closed his eyes, waiting with baited breath. But all that he felt was a light tap on his shoulder. </p>
<p>It was the girl, standing behind him. Oh. He felt kind of stupid now. She sat down on a large rock, yawning softly, and he followed her movements and sat down beside her. </p>
<p>“What’s your name..?” Mono asked quietly, treading on eggshells. Maybe she would feel more comfy if he said his name first..? “Uh- m-mine’s, uh, Mic- Mono.”</p>
<p>The girl looked at him with a wary expression, but cleared her throat and spoke hoarsely, “Six.”</p>
<p>Strange name, Mono thought to himself. He could work with it though. He hummed a quiet noise to let Six know that he was listening and swung his legs back and forth, taking care not to hit his heels on the rock. </p>
<p>Six gave a little smile and he gave one back, but then he realised that she couldn’t see it. Hmmph. Mono considered taking off his paper bag to smile at her or show any signs of friendliness but he quickly decided against it. Instead of smiling, he just gave Six an awkward, stiff pat on the shoulder. </p>
<p>Six stood suddenly and Mono tilted his head to the side curiously, wondering why she had jumped up so urgently. She pointed towards the way they came from, where the cabin was, and made a beckoning motion with her hand. </p>
<p>Mono shook his head no. No, no, no, he was NOT going back there. Not when the Hunter was actively looking for them! </p>
<p>Six nodded a yes back at him, then crawled through the hole that they were previously hiding in. Mono groaned but obliged, following her through the tiny space.</p>
<p>Once they were on the other side, they started to run. They didn’t want to be caught by the Hunter, and even though Mono couldn’t hear footsteps, he was still terrified of running into him again. </p>
<p>Six didn’t really seem to care, though, as she trotted along through the forest, with him following next to her.</p>
<p>Jeeeeeez. How far had they ran? The trees and forestland seemed to stretch on forever and ever... Mono started to slow down slightly, his fast stride turning into a stumble.</p>
<p>“H-Hey..! Six,” he called out, “can-can we stop a moment?”</p>
<p>He wanted to take back his words as soon as Six turned to look at him, annoyed expression softening when she realised how worn out he seemed. She nodded softly, pity plastered on her face as she stopped and waited for Mono to catch up with her.</p>
<p>Soon enough he had ambled his way towards the smaller girl, out of breath, throat sore and hoarse. She turned to him, concern plastered across her face as she reached out a gentle hand that he couldn’t help but recoil at. </p>
<p>“You okay..??” Six asked, voice sweet like honey while she wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him to sit on a tree stump.</p>
<p>Mono nodded, wrapping his coat around himself tight to self soothe, and he flinched as Six sat down quietly next to him. She seemed to pause, gears turning in her mind and she placed a hand on top of his shaking one.</p>
<p>A few moments of calm silence passed, the only sound around the two children being the wind rustling the leaves of the tall trees. Six jumped up from the stump suddenly and held out her tiny hand to Mono, who took it, confused. She walked slowly with him beside her until he could hear the rushing water of a nearby lake.</p>
<p>Mono smiled from behind his mask and once they had reached the bank of the river, he sat on the edge, watching the little bubbles rise to the surface and pop. Six kneeled down beside him and scooped water into her hands, guzzling down the cool liquid.</p>
<p>He hesitated, water did sound nice right now, he hadn’t had anything to drink for almost a day.. But to drink, he would have to remove his mask. His eyes flickered to where Six was still gulping down water by the handful. Mono sighed and rolled up the bottom of the paper bag to his nose, then began to scoop up the water too.</p>
<p>Somewhere close he could hear leaves crackling and stomping footsteps coming closer to the lake. He didn’t pay attention to that, though, and continued to clumsily splash water into his mouth. But Six did. She grabbed his arm hastily, standing in a panic. A roar was heard and then they were running as fast as their legs could carry them.</p>
<p>Mono could hear that the Hunter was definitely giving chase. His boots stomped against the ground in anger and bullets ricocheted off of the length of the trees. He squeaked loudly as a bullet whizzed past his ear at light speed, then picked up his pace. </p>
<p>They ducked and weaved through trees and behind old crates, trying not to get shot. The cabin appeared in the distance through the thick fog and within minutes they had climbed through the open window.</p>
<p>The Hunter wasn’t too far behind, though. He pushed open the front door with a forceful rage, growling as he stomped through the house. Mono and Six stood still underneath the table, shadow hiding them entirely while the Hunter stomped around.</p>
<p>Once the Hunter had left the room, they snuck out as fast as they could. Mono held his hand out to Six, who gladly took it and they walked together, up the stairs and to the second floor. </p>
<p>The second floor seemed... different. Something was off. Mono could feel the sense of imminent danger floating around him, stagnant air holding a foreshadow. The large, square hole in the planks showed the floor below, clouded in darkness.</p>
<p>Mono stared across at the other side of the second floor, at the wooden beam connecting them. He motioned at the other side to Six and she nodded in understanding. She made a walking motion with her hand and he made it back to her. But.. what if they fell?? It was a long way down..</p>
<p>“You first..” Mono whispered.</p>
<p>Six narrowed her glowing green eyes at him, but still walked across the beam, balancing with her arms and sliding onto the wooden planks. She motioned to Mono, basically telling him to walk across too.</p>
<p>He froze for a few seconds, but once Six shot that cold glare at him he shakily walked over to the edge. Holding his breath, he said a quick prayer and slowly crept across.</p>
<p>His eyes widened as the board snapped and he started to plummet down, but Six grabbed his hand before he could fall any further, pulling him up onto the wooden floor.</p>
<p>He wrapped his arms around Six and breathed a sigh of relief, thanking her over and over loudly, if it wasn’t for her he wouldn’t dropped to his death. But the happiness was short lived as the Hunter roared and burst into the room on the floor below.</p>
<p>Squealing, he buried his covered face in Six’s shoulder, but she jumped up, pulling him up with him. She grabbed his hand and watched as the Hunter stomped around, looking for them on the floor below. The light of his flashlight shined on them and Mono panicked, but ran, over to the other side of the room. His eyes scanned around for anything he could use to escape, anything, something, PLEASE.</p>
<p>He didn’t want to die. His hands shook and his whole body was wracked with a sob as he felt around for a weapon or something to defend with. Anything.</p>
<p>Death was approaching rapidly. He held onto Six’s hand as tears streamed down his frail cheeks and splattered onto his coat. All of a sudden, a whirring noise was heard, and a nearby television clicked on. The static buzzed menacingly as he and Six crept over to it. A chance to escape.</p>
<p>He knew how to travel through the TVs. His dad had given him the power to, his mother used to say. He had never met his dad, but he still knew he had power. Maybe in the few minutes they had to escape, he could show Six too. It was their only option.</p>
<p>Mono motioned over to the TV, his sobs slowing into a gentle whimper. Six tilted her head to the side, a confused motion. How could he teach this to her..? No, not teach, please don’t think of her, not now..</p>
<p>He tapped his fingers together, trying to think of something. Maybe if he held her hand, they would travel through together! Hey, it was worth a shot. After all, they were just about to die. </p>
<p>He squeezed her hand tight and took a step towards the TV. She shot him a weird look and he motioned to the electronic.</p>
<p>“Trust me,” was all he said as he climbed through, static filling his ears. It was all he could hear as they fell through the screen.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. want to change the world? there’s nothing to it.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mono stared out at the sunrise, “anything you want to do, do it.. Want to change the world..?”<br/>A soft, high voice joined in, “There’s nothing to it..”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is just a short filler chapter for you all, sorry for my absence!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mono’s eyes opened and scanned around. Where was he? It didn’t feel like the bed he was so used to waking up on. For one, there weren’t bugs skittering around his tiny frame. He groaned and sat up slowly, hands pressed against the hard rock. </p>
<p>..Huh? Rock?</p>
<p>He looked down at the ground as soon as he had sat up. Oh. He was in the forest. The events of the previous day flooded back into his head and he scrambled onto his feet, eyes searching for Six. </p>
<p>She was nowhere to be found. His breath hitched. What if something had happened to her? What if the Hunter had taken her? What if she was laying dead somewhere? What if she didn’t make it through the TV??</p>
<p>Mono couldn’t stop his hands from shaking. He didn’t want to lose anyone else.. Taking tentative steps, he wondered what to do next. What was he to do without Six? </p>
<p>After a few seconds of silence, he evened out his rough breathing and took small steps towards what seemed like an exit from the bush he was trapped in. </p>
<p>Shrubs poked and prodded at him as he pushed the leaves and twigs out of the way. He crawled through slowly, shutting his eyes just in case there was a gruesome sight ahead of him, but all he saw was..</p>
<p>Six..?</p>
<p>He breathed a quiet sigh of relief as his eyes flickered over her peaceful body. Her chest rose up and down with her even breathing, and soft snores sounded every once in a while. For the first time since he had met her, she seemed calm. Tranquil. </p>
<p>His heart ached at the fact that they probably wouldn’t have many moments of peace like this. Adults didn’t let them have any fun. A soft pout grew on his face as he sat down next to Six’s sleeping frame, humming slightly.</p>
<p>Soft murmurs turned into jumbled words. “If you want to view.. paradise,” his shaky voice echoed quietly around the trees, “simply look around and view it..”</p>
<p>Mono stared out at the sunrise, “anything you want to do, do it.. Want to change the world..?”</p>
<p>A soft, high voice joined in, “There’s nothing to it..”</p>
<p>Mono looked over at Six, who’s eyes were wide open wistfully, a far away look in the green glow. She gave him a tiny smile and sat up, scooted close to him, shivering slightly.</p>
<p>He shrugged off his coat and placed it around her shoulders. He couldn’t feel the cold anyway, so it wasn’t like he needed the coat. Six nodded, a silent thanks, and pulled it close like a blanket. </p>
<p>“..” Six looked at him, then looked back out at the mass of trees looming over them. “What’s with the.. TV thing..?”</p>
<p>Mono winced and shifted uncomfortably, “Dad. Uh.. Taught me. How to use them..” he muttered, sentences broken up nervously as he rubbed his hands together.</p>
<p>Six hummed and nodded, “why do they do that..?”</p>
<p>“Do what..?”</p>
<p>The small girl gave him an unimpressed look, kind of like ‘you know exactly what I’m talking about’. He stared down at his lap, trying to avoid talking about the TVs. But once he realised that Six wasn’t going to let him get out of answering, he grumbled reluctantly.</p>
<p>“The, uh,” Mono stumbled over his words, trying to find a good explanation. “There’s a tower. In the city. It.. uh.. powers the TVs.”</p>
<p>A strange look passed through Six’s eyes as she nodded, pointing to Mono, then pressing her pointer finger to her chest and pointing off into the distance. </p>
<p>His heart sunk. No. He was not going to the tower. His dad would kill him! Like, actually. But Six was giving him such an innocently devilish pointed look, almost a threat, so he sighed. </p>
<p>Maybe dad wouldn’t be that mad..</p>
<p>He nodded, caving under her stare, and he held out his hand to help her up off of the ground. She grabbed his hand and hauled herself onto her feet, dusting off her yellow raincoat.</p>
<p>“We should go..” Mono looked around. fearfully, what if the Hunter was to come looking for them? Six seemed to get the message and took the lead, still holding his hand.</p>
<p>The two children walked through the forest hand in hand, humming a soft melody. Some sort of lullaby. Clear but quiet notes brightened the dreary mood as the made their way through the overgrown area. </p>
<p>The mood shifted all of a sudden. Leaves crunched behind them and the air seemed stale, stagnating. Mono ripped his hand away from Six’s as he heard a low growl. Like an animal. </p>
<p>His heart dropped. </p>
<p>He spun around just as a seemingly giant fox jumped out of the bushes. He grabbed onto Six’s arm, pushing her ahead, he can deal with this! His heart was pounding and he was scared out of his mind but he could totally deal with this giant fucking animal-</p>
<p>Mumbling some not so nice words as Six stumbled forward, he looked around for something to defend himself with. Hm. The fox barked and screamed at him as it charged towards him. </p>
<p>Maybe he should just run for now. </p>
<p>Mono tripped slightly and started running, bare feet getting caught on wire and pine cones and needles. Six grabbed his hand as he caught up to her and pulled him, a silent reminder to move faster. </p>
<p>He stopped for a second, a far enough distance from the fox to look for weapons. A stick laid on the ground, almost fully covered by stacks of leaves. Mono grabbed the stick and held it up in front of his face. </p>
<p>As soon as the fox had gotten close enough, he brought the stick down on its head, hard. It yelped and crashed to the ground, hitting its head on a rock. </p>
<p>For such a big animal it went down quite easily. He tossed the stick to the side and motioned to Six, making a “psst” noise at the younger girl. </p>
<p>She nodded and flashed him a thumbs up, then motioned for him to follow her. He made a “wait” sign with his hand and knelt down so he could see the fox better. </p>
<p>There was a lot of blood. </p>
<p>He stumbled back at the sight and he grabbed Six’s hand, planning to run. But where were they going? </p>
<p>The realisation hit him like a bus. Mono had no clue where he was. He had been around the forest a few times but he had never ever gotten lost like this before!</p>
<p>He took a tentative step and almost fell face first into the swampy grass. His feet sank into the mud, as did Six’s, around to waist height.</p>
<p>He turned to Six in alarm as a shot sounded and ricocheted through the swampland.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank u for reading! please leave kudos and comments it makes me really happy!! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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